Macabre
by tirocno
Summary: The Doctor wants Amy to know how he feels about her, but his plans to tell her are put on hold when a trip to the dark and lovely planet Coval goes disastrously wrong. AU Amy/11  no Rory . Rated T just in case?
1. Wanting and Hoping

**A/N: **An attempt at a serious fic. Also, one of my first attempts at an actual pairing thing! :D This fic is AU, cause otherwise Rory would be there...I like Rory, but no. He's not needed here. :S Please review, I need to know if I should continue this! Love you all. :)

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**Macabre**

**Chapter 1: Wanting and Hoping**

The Doctor's thoughts were, as usual, on the matter of his affections for Amy, as he waited in the console room.

_Asking her out won't work-asking her to travel with me was almost like offering her one huge, long date._

_**A date which she accepted, Doctor.**_

The Doctor looked up at the ceiling as the TARDIS spoke to him telepathically.

'Only because she had been waiting for me all her life.' he muttered in reply.

_**But supposing you did ask her out...**_

'No!' he said, more loudly than he meant to.

_**Oh, stop it. You're only saying that because you're nervous about it.**_

'I'm not nervous...' he murmured angrily, sounding like a child.

_**She likes you too, you know.**_

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply when Amy entered the room.

'Ready?' she asked brightly as he whirled round.

'I'm always ready,' he drawled in a cocky manner, grinning like an idiot. 'Where are we going again?'

'To the planet Coval.' Amy explained, rolling her eyes but smiling all the same. 'You went on about it for aaages, saying how it was always night time there, and that they had celebrations all the time. Plus, there's this-'

'-amazing fruit there,' he said with her, remembering what he had told her the day before. 'Yes! It's wonderful, tastes just like custard.'

'It would do.'

'Come along, Pond, there is no time for dilly-dallying! Let's hop to it!'

'Hey! I'm not the one who can fly this thing!' Amy's attitude got the best of her, sending butterflies flying round the Doctor's stomach as the TARDIS took off. _That's embarassing, _he thought with an inward grimace.

'Amy,' he said. He turned to face her and ended up closer than he had intented. 'Oh, um...' He got flustered, to his further embarassment.

'Yeah?' Amy prompted.

'Never mind.' he said quickly, returning to the console.

Amy's shoulders slumped in slight disappointment but she brushed it off and waited for the TARDIS to land.

_**Don't worry, child.**_

She gasped as she heard a voice in her head, but luckily the Doctor didn't notice.

_Who are you? _Amy thought, hoping that whoever the voice belonged to wasn't some kind of sinister being.

_**Well, I'm blue, and the Doctor calls me 'sexy'. **_

_TARDIS?_

_**Yes, love. Now, what was I saying?**_

_Don't worry?_

_**Ah yes. Don't worry, Amy. He wasn't going to say anything bad. **_

_Oh. _Amy was relieved. _But I was hoping..._

_**That he was going to say something romantic? Oh, believe me, he wants to, girlfriend, he just takes a while to build up the courage to speak like that to his...love interests.**_

The corner's of Amy's mouths twitched upwards in a shy smile. _I'm a love interest?_

_**...Bugger. I wasn't supposed to tell you that.**_

'We're here!' the Doctor cried, snapping her out of her thoughts and back into the warped version of reality that she had come to know.

The Doctor opened the doors, and then gestured to the world outside with an air of grandeur. 'Welcome to the planet Coval.'


	2. Perpetual Night

**A/N: **BIG HUMONGOUS SHOUT-OUT to **petzemz** for being the first to review, and so quickly, too! :D Also, thanks to everyone who Favourited and/or +Story Alerts, you are also brilliant! So that's **docenders**, **ILiveADaydream**, **xMusicGurlx**, **April-Witch20 **and **gingergrl**. Love you all millions! :)

Eep, cannot wait to continue writing this. Tried to make this chapter longer because I thought the first one was quite short, and also, you deserve it. xD Enjoy!

Oh, and believe me, this fic will start suiting its' title soon, hopefully. :)

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'Oh my God,' Amy breathed as she took in the sights around her. 'It's amazing!'

The planet Coval looked like the centre of a city, with people dressed in sleek, posh clothes filling every inch of space. There were buildings everywhere, covered with lights and signs. Music filled the air, but the most dazzling thing was the sky. It was a deep purple, nearly black, and it was filled with bright white stars . The moon was huge, a dusky lilac colour, and consumed much of the space in the sky. Now and then a ball of light would appear, similar to the Northern Lights.

'Wow.'

'I know. I've always loved this place.' the Doctor sighed.

Amy turned around and looked slightly angry. 'You didn't tell me it was this...fancy. I need to get ready!' Amy headed for the wardrobe, slapping the Doctor lightly on the arm as she left.

'But you already look...' the Doctor started, but then stopped and looked at the floor. Amy was wearing some dark skinny jeans, a white tshirt and a pair of blue baseball boots, so she probably didn't think that she looked too good, but the Doctor couldn't help but think that she looked...

_**Beautiful? **_the TARDIS said to the Doctor, playfully nudging him in the right direction. He looked up to see Amy watching him expectantly.

'I already look what?' Again, she was prompting him, hoping for something to indicate that maybe they could be more than friends.

'You look, um...' Nerves were getting the better of him and he hated it. He balled his hands into fists and gave himself a mental slap, before looking up once more to look her right in the eye and saying, 'You look beautiful.'

Amy's heart fluttered. 'Thank you.' she replied, smiling. 'But I'm still going to get my glad-rags on. If we end up at some posh event I do not want to look like I'm ready for a kickabout!' With that, she turned around and left.

_**Good work, Amy darling. **_For the second time that day, Amy heard the TARDIS speaking to her again. She had a very soothing voice. _**If you give into him too quickly he'll walk all over you; just ask his previous incarnation. ...Well, on second thoughts, you'd better not.**_

Amy didn't reply, but her smile widened as her confidence grew.

**-DW=3-**

The Doctor was leaning against the TARDIS doors (which he had closed), thinking about how to get Amy's attention. His compliment hadn't seemed to work on her, but maybe she was doing that annoying thing that human females do - what was it? _Playing hard to get. _The Doctor thought darkly, but then he smiled. _That girl is infuriating! _

_**I'm assuming you mean that in the most affectionate way possible.**_

The Doctor looked directly at the console and said, 'Could you please stop interrupting?'

_**Alright, alright, I'll shut up...**_

'Okay, I'm ready for my close up!'

The Doctor looked up to see Amy stalking confidently into the room, dressed in a strapless black dress and black high heels. Her hair was tied up into an elegant bun, some loose curls hanging down by her neck, and on her head was a fascinator made up of black plumes and some net-like material.

'Oh, gosh.' the Doctor just about said, barely managing to get the words out.

'Doctor, are you alright?' Amy sounded concerned.

'Yeah, yeah, fine, absolutely. Wow.' he replied, busying himself by opening the doors again.

'So...how do I look?' Amy asked, simply out of interest.

The Doctor had returned to his usual mischievous, cocky self by the time he replied. 'More amazing than ever.' he said, stepping outside and turning to face his companion. He offered her his arm. 'Miss Pond, may I escort you around this wondrous planet?' he asked.

'You may!' Amy said excitedly, linking her arm through his and following him into perpetual night.

-**DW=3-**

They had explored the fairground they had found whilst traversing the streets of Coval, and were now sat in the back of a taxi, Amy munching on a toffee apple.

'Where are we going now, Doctor?' she asked between bites.

'I'm taking you to a ball!' the Doctor announced happily, grinning like a madman.

'A ball? Seriously? Like, with proper dances and chandeliers?' Amy's eyes were wide with surprise.

'Yep! Waltzes and orchestras and _probably _a chandelier or two, although I'm not sure. You don't mind using the psychic paper to get in, do you?' the Doctor teased.

'Of course not! It's a ball, isn't it? God, I've never been to a proper one in my life. It'll be like Cinderella, but without the crap home life and the glass slippers.'

Amy continued to babble like this until they arrived at the venue, at which point she fell completely silent.

Before them was a huge gothic mansion, with the gigantic moon and some of the biggest stars Amy had ever seen as a backdrop. The mansion was illuminated by the purple glow of the moon, which gave the whole place a rather majestic and seductive appearance.

'You see that moon, Pond,' the Doctor began, pointing at it as they got out of the cab.

'How could I miss it?' Amy murmured, awestruck.

'It's not like the moon on Earth - it produces its own light rather than borrowing it off of the Sun because...well, this planet doesn't actually have one. Of course, the stars make up for most of the light, but on the planet Coval, the moon is what photosynthesises plants, and helps the population absorb their dosage of vitamin D. Although I don't think it's called vitamin D here, it's called something else, like-'

'Oh, shut up, Doctor.' Amy interrupted, affectionately cutting off his rambling. 'Let's get this party started!'

There was a queue of people at the door of the mansion, all dressed in expensive-looking clothes, waiting to get inside; however, the Doctor simply walked passed the whole line of people and up to the front door, brandishing his psychic paper as he got to the man who was allowing people inside.

'I'm Sir Smith, and this is my plus one Madame Pond. I believe that we are on the list?' he said loudly and confidently, putting an arm around Amy's shoulders.

'But of course, your lord and ladyship!' The man had a French-sounding accent (although Amy supposed it wasn't French, but some Coval equivalent) and was extremely pale. He was tall, and his blonde hair was slicked back, reminding Amy of Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books she had devoured when she was about twelve. He opened the door to the mansion and the Doctor stepped inside, removing his arm from around Amy's shoulders and letting her scurry in behind him. She called a hasty 'thank you' as she disappeared inside.

'Oh, wow!' Amy gasped as the Doctor grinned triumphantly.

The ballroom in front of her was absolutely fabulous. The floor was of gleaming, polished marble, in which everybody was reflected, and the walls were cream. There were seats made from dark mahogany and a soft, pale fabric all around the sides of the room where couples and friends sat and chattered, holding glasses of champagne. The room was warmly lit, with lights made to look like candles fixed into the walls; the ceiling was carved with intricate Celtic knots where it met the wall, and in its centre was a huge, sparkling chandelier. It seemed to be illuminated from the inside out, and cast a pale yellow glow around the room.

Amy turned to face the Doctor and beamed, the picture of joy. 'Thank you so much!' she squealed, wrapping the Doctor into a tight hug, which he gladly returned. When they broke apart, the orchestra had stopped playing the lively song that it had been when the pair had entered the room, and the people in the ballroom clapped and cheered. Then, a slower number started up.

'Do you want to dance?' Amy and the Doctor asked in unison, then burst out laughing.

'Geronimo!' the Doctor exclaimed, delighted apparent in his voice, taking Amy by the hand and whisking her on to the dancefloor.


	3. Why Not?

**A/N: **Big thank you **xMusicGurlx **and **TwilightHayley **for your kind reviews, and to everyone who , so that's **IStoleTheHorcrux **(did you? I'm impressed!), **Capt. Torie Bones **and **TwilightHayley **again. :)

Hope you like this chapter, I'll try to get writing Chapter 4 soon. Enjoy! :D

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**Macabre**

**Chapter 3: Why Not?**

'You never told me,' Amy said as she and the Doctor stepped from side to side in time with the music, 'What's this place called?' Her arms were around the Doctor's neck and his hands were on her waist.

'It's called 'The Sunset Lounge', I believe,' the Doctor replied. 'Although it's not a lounge, not really, more a hotel, restaurant and expensive party venue.'

Amy nodded, looking impressed. 'Ooh, another thing!' she suddenly exclaimed. 'When do the people here sleep if it's always night time?'

The Doctor smiled. 'You ask the best questions.'

'Why, because you can't answer them?' she teased.

He grinned. 'I'm the Doctor, of course I can! Anyway, about your question. I'm not sure when Covalians go to sleep, but then I don't think they are, either. What I have gathered about the Coval lifestyle is this: you party hard until you're exhausted, go to sleep, wake up and party hard once more!'

As if on cue, the music changed to a much more lively number that sounded very rock 'n' roll. The Doctor took Amy's hand and spun her around, and she squealed and laughed. 'Ready to try and fit in with that lifestyle?' the Doctor asked her, looking mischievous.

'Excuse me sir, madame?' A waiter had appeared next to them, holding a tray in one hand. The other was behind his back. The tray was made of gleaming silver, and upon it were some pink fruits shaped like butterflies. 'Can I interest you in some Ostregines?'

The Doctor replied without delay. 'Ooh, yes please!' He grabbed two and stuffed one in his mouth, then nodded at Amy and gestured for her to take one, too.

'Um, yeah, okay, thank you!' Amy said, taking one carefully between two fingers and nibbling at it. The waiter then moved on to another couple.

'They're good, aren't they?' the Doctor said as he saw Amy's face light up in delight.

'These are those custard things you were on about! But they taste a bit like something else...kind of metallic?' Amy asked, putting the rest of her Ostregine in her motuh.

'Yes...' the Doctor said, concentrating on the flavour. 'Yes, they do. That's weird. Did you know that Ostregines are also known as Flying Roses here?'

'Of course not, Doctor. But that's not important right now, 'Sir Smith'.' Amy said happily. 'Come on, let's keep dancing!' She grabbed his hand and yanked him towards her (as they had stepped apart when the waiter had arrived), and bounced around in a circle, her hair being tossed to and fro as she did so.

'What's got into you all of a sudden?' the Doctor questioned, smiling. She seemed to have gotten quite...hyper, he supposed was the word, very quickly. But then again, he couldn't deny that he himself was feeling rather giddy and wanted nothing else but to continue dancing the night away.

'Nothing, silly billy!' Amy replied, rolling her eyes. 'Come oooon!' She carried on dancing.

He glanced at her, but then beamed and joined in.

-**DW=3-**

Hours later, and the Doctor found himself running out of the ballroom, Amy's hand in his, the pair of them giggling like fools.

'This way, Pond!' he crowed, not actually sure where he was going but too happy and frivolous to care. 'We've got lots more to see! And of course, the night's not over yet!'

'Doctor! Doctor, wait, stop for a second.' Amy panted, and the Doctor stopped and turned around. Again, he ended up far too close for his liking, making him inhale slowly and collect himself. 'Sorry,' Amy explained. 'I just wanted to catch my breath. Also...'

'Yes?' the Doctor asked.

Amy took his hand and looked him directly in the eye. 'This has been one of the best nights ever.' she said sincerely. 'Thank you.'

'I'm...I'm glad.' the Doctor managed to reply, her sweet, floral scent distracting him.

They stared at eachother for what seemed like forever, and Amy was about to lean in towards him when a woman's voice filled the air.

'Are you aware that you are in the foyer of one of the most resplendent hotels in the whole of Coval?'

The pair turned around to see a tall, blonde woman watching them, her red lips pursed in dissaproval. Her voice wasn't posh at all, in fact, she sounded almost Cockney when she spoke. She wore a red and black ball gown, that was Victorian in style.

'Um, no, actually. Sorry.' the Doctor replied after a moment.

'No worries. I just hope you haven't scared off any potential customers. Will you be staying with us tonight?' she purred.

The Doctor looked at Amy, waiting for her reaction. Noticing this, Amy replied, 'Yes please!'

The woman walked over to the reception desk which Amy and the Doctor now noticed. 'Names?'

'I am Sir Smith and this is Madame Pond.' the Doctor said, holding up his psychic paper once more.

'Ah, I see you are a VIP. How nice.' There was a pause. 'Hmm. Smith. What an unusual surname.' the woman said, shooting the Doctor a seductive smile, which he didn't seem to understand. He cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. 'Will you be sharing a room?' she asked reluctantly.

'Uh-'

'Oh, wait.' the woman suddenly interrupted. 'So sorry loves, there's only one room left. I hope you won't mind sharing.'

There was a brief silence in which the Doctor and Amy communicated, somehow, using expressions alone. Then, the Doctor said, 'No, we don't mind.'

'Good. Anyway, the bed is made up of two singles, so you'll be able to pull them apart if you don't want to, ah...sleep together, so to speak.'

At this, the Doctor blushed and looked to the floor, and Amy looked at the wall, widening her eyes incredulously. The woman scowled. 'I'll show you to your room.'

She led them up two flights of stairs, and then to a dark wooden door with a golden handle. Above that was some kind of reader.

'Here's your card. You'll need this to get in to your room, and to access the pay channels on the TV.' She placed a small, grey rectangular strip in the Doctor's hand. 'Just slide it over the reader there and you're good to go.'

'Thank you,' the Doctor and Amy said together, then looked at eachother in pleasant surprise.

'I'm Sophia, by the way. Sophia Morelli.' the woman said. 'Enjoy your stay.' She then stalked down the stairs.

'Not very desperate, is she?' Amy murmured, her dislike for the blonde woman evident in her voice and her expression as the Doctor slid the card over the reader and opened the door to their room.

'I beg to differ.' the Doctor said, and Amy was about to launch into a full scale rant when he said. 'I mean, she _was _talking to yours truly.'

Amy walked over and hit him playfully on the arm. 'Oh, whatever.' She collapsed on to the silky looking pair of beds in the centre of the room. The lights in the ceiling were tiny and looked like stars, and the carpet was soft and fluffy beneath their feet.

The Doctor looked at her and shook any innapropriate thoughts from his head before speaking up. 'Hey! No time for laying about! There's so much more to do!'

Amy lifted her head off of the bed. 'Like what? Eat more Flying Roses?' she asked jokingly, stretching.

'No. I don't think we should eat anymore of those.'

'Why not?'

'They've changed a bit since I was last here, or maybe I'm getting old. But either way, they seemed to have a bit of a strange effect on us.'

'Like, you think they were drugs?'

'Maybe. I don't know.' He joined her on the bed, sitting cross legged and looking at her face in wonder.

_Maybe I should tell her now. _he thought.

'Amy,' he murmured, straightening his legs out and staring at his feet, not daring to look at her as he let her know how he felt.

'Yes Doctor?'

Just then, someone screamed.


	4. Apprehension

**A/N: **Thank you to **TwilightHayley **for yet another lovely review, and to **kelsealynn77 **for Faving! :D

Sorry for the cliffhanger last time. But an aspiring writer's gotta do what an aspiring writer's gotta do. ;)

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**Macabre**

**Chapter 4: Apprehension**

The Doctor and Amy were up and out of their room quicker than you could say 'I think I love you.' They darted down both flights of stairs that they had been led up only moments ago, but when they reached the bottom Amy came to a halt, standing stock still, whereas the Doctor ran straight over to the body that was lying on the floor of the foyer in front of them.

'That's horrible,' Amy whispered, her eyes wide with fear and her voice full of compassion.

The body of a man was in a heap, face down, on the red carpet of the foyer, and blood was streaming from a wound in his neck. The man was deathly pale and had blonde hair, and as the Doctor rolled him over Amy realised that she recognized him.

'But th-that's the man who let us in before.' she said, sounding more scared than before. The Doctor hadn't said anything at all since they'd got there. 'Doctor. Aren't you going to say something?'

'Not until I've at least come up with a theory on what could have done this!' he snapped, whipping out his sonic screwdriver and scanning up and down the body. The green light illuminated the man's face and showed that he had been smiling before he died.

'I don't think it was him screaming,' Amy said after a moment. 'I'm pretty sure it was a woman.'

Suddenly, a woman's voice, high pitched and hoarse from fear, filled the air. 'There!' it cried, and Amy looked around to see the blonde woman from before, Sophia, pointing at the body (which the Doctor quickly jumped away from) and shrieking at the top of her voice. She was accompanied with three men, all dressed in the same black clothes, so Amy supposed that they were police. 'There it is! It was horrible! It suddenly just fell from a few floors up...'

One of the policemen pushed his way forward and looked at Amy and the Doctor, the picture of suspicion. 'And what are you doing here?'

'We heard someone scream.' Amy said.

'Yes, so we came down here,' the Doctor continued for her, sounding less shell-shocked and more calm. 'And we found poor old...well, we don't know his name, but we found this man lying dead on the floor.'

'Oh.' Sophia put in. 'It would have been me you heard screaming.' She sounded apologetic. 'I was sitting here at the desk, and suddenly this body just comes flying down from nowhere. It frightened the life out of me!' Sophia was shaking and her forehead was creased with worry.

'Would you like to tell me exactly how you found the body, sir?' the policeman asked, directing the question at the Doctor.

'He was lying face down.' the Doctor answered. 'I only turned him over to get a look at his face, to see if there were any further injuries.'

'An what, pray tell, gives you the right to do that?'

Without a moment's hesitation, the Doctor had his psychic paper out and was striding towards the policeman. 'As well as being a lord, I am also a doctor!' he said confidently.

The policeman studied the paper, then nodded slowly. 'Okay. Go on.'

'Yes. He doesn't seem to have been injured much from the fall that Sophia described, although I dare say he'll probably have been bruised on the way down. The main injury here is that awful bite on his neck.' The Doctor pointed to the still bleeding wound on the man's neck.

'Bite?' Amy repeated, grimacing. 'You mean there's some sort of animal in here?'

'Not an animal,' the Doctor said. 'But possibly something more humanoid.'

'What are you implying?' the policeman roared. 'You think one of _us _did it? Or a guest?'

'Exactly that, police officer. I don't think everyone here is as Covalian as they seem.'

Suddenly, Sophia glared at Amy. 'I know she isn't.'

'What?' all of the police officers said at once, intrigued.

'Me?' Amy squeaked.

'You're a human, aren't you?' Sophia challenged.

'Well, yes, but I don't see how that makes me a suspect!' Amy replied angrily.

'Wait.' one of the other policemen said. 'You're human? But that's amazing! We haven't had a human here for decades!'

Amy's fury died down a little. 'What? Why?'

'Well...most of them are too scared to come here.' he replied sheepishly, eyeing Amy with wonder and some sort of respect.

'Wh-'

The Doctor grabbed Amy by the arm and began to lead her away before the situation got even more complicated. 'I'll explain later.' he said, to both her and the policeman before taking her back up to their room.

**-DW=3-**

As the door to their room was shut behind them, Amy turned to the Doctor.

'Why did we have to leave? What's happening here?' She was angry with him, he could tell.

'Because I don't think it's safe for too many people to know that you're a human. And I don't know what's happening, but I have thoughts.' The Doctor's expression was grim as he replied.

'Like?' Amy prompted.

There was a pause. 'Well, okay, I don't have many thoughts yet, but one thing I do think is that maybe there are people here that are more thirsty for blood than normal.'

'Because it's so normal to be thirsty for blood.' Amy drawled sarcastically.

'Oh, you know what I mean.'

'Yeah.' Amy sat down on the edge of the bed (or, one of the two) and inhaled deeply.

'Are you alright?' the Doctor asked quietly.

'Yeah, fine, you know, the usual. Great party, great food, then a dead body comes and lands in the foyer. I'm used to that.' Amy's voice was shaking as she spoke and she looked on the verge of tears.

'Oh, Amy.' the Doctor said, putting his arms around her. 'I'm sorry.'

She returned the hug and murmured. 'It's okay.'

The Doctor suddenly let go of her and looked her in the eye. 'No, it's not okay. It's not fair on you that things had to go wrong like this. You've been through far too much in your short lifetime to deserve any of this, so it's not okay. I wasn't saying sorry to be comforting, I was saying sorry because I meant it. I'm sorry that all of this had to happen today, and I'm sorry that I didn't come back for you when you were small. I just...' the Doctor trailed off, breathing heavily. He hadn't meant to say so much at all.

Amy blinked, surprised. 'Okay. Wow.' She let out a long, low whistle. 'Unexpected.'

The Doctor went and sat next to her. 'It's a shame it took a death for me to say that all to you.'

Amy gave him a small smile, and covered his hand with hers. 'Never mind, eh? At least it's out in the open now.' she said quietly.

The Doctor looked up at her and their eyes locked. They gazed at each other for a while, unsure. Then Amy tilted her head slightly, and before either of them could say anything, their lips met, gently and slowly, a kiss full of meaning.

They broke apart and, overcome with emotion, Amy began to cry.

'Well, that's boosted my ego.' the Doctor said dryly as he hugged her again, letting out a shaky laugh. Amy laughed too through her tears, and then the pair sat in companionable silence, for there was nothing left to say.

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**A/N: **Yes, I put in a kiss, because I'm nice. Also, I wanted it to happen before some stuff. Am I going to fast with this relationship? :S


	5. Lying Low

**A/N: **Shout-outs to **petzemz **and **missproffessorwho **for reviewing! Thank you! Also, thanks again to **missprofessorwho **for +Story Alert-ing! :)

Sorry for the [short?] wait, but there was stuff, and I, unfortunately, did not have a timey wimey detector to go 'ding' to let me know. :(

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**Macabre**

**Chapter 5: Lying Low**

The Doctor and Amy both woke seemingly early (although there was no way of telling, apart from the latter's reluctance at getting up at all.) They had decided to push the two beds apart, but mainly for strategic reasons - 'This way, I can guard the door while you sleep!' the Doctor had said happily, causing Amy to give him a funny look.

'Where are we going?' Amy asked groggily as she followed the Time Lord out of the door.

'Anywhere. I want to investigate! We're investigating tonight, Pond, keep those eyes peeled. Always be suspicious, don't trust anyone! Apart from me, of course. Don't ever stop trusting me. But otherwise - we're on the lookout tonight, Amy, so don't hesitate in telling me about anything strange. Unless we're about to get killed, or something, but that won't happen.' the Doctor replied, full of excitement and enthusiasm.

'You've really got a kick out of that death, haven't you?' Amy asked jokingly.

'What, me?' he said, putting on an innocent expression. 'Never! Well, at least, not in some weird, sadistic way. That is not my bag at all.' The Doctor grimaced for emphasis.

They walked through the foyer and out on to the streets when the Doctor came to an abrupt halt, Amy nearly crashing into the back of him, like usual. 'Amy, we need to get back to the TARDIS.' he said, looking deep in thought.

'Why?' she queried, cocking her head to one side.

'Because you might need your running shoes on.'

Amy rolled her eyes. 'Thanks. That makes me feel a whole lot better about the whole potential death thing.'

**-DW=3-**

The pair emerged from the TARDIS a quarter of an hour later, Amy now wearing jeans, a tshirt and some trainers. Her hair had been pulled free of the bun it had been in the night before, and for some strange reason all of these things made her feel more confident about the night ahead of them on this strange planet.

'Now, where to go when in search of possible killers?' the Doctor murmured, tapping his mouth with his index finger.

'The hotel? That's where it happened.'

'Yes, but I do wonder if anyone else knows anything about any other killings.'

'Well then, let's look for a house! There's got to be some flats somewhere.' When the Doctor didn't move or reply, Amy said, 'Or, we could just mooch about until we find something interesting.'

'That sounds much better! Let's go!' he said, grinning, and they set off into the city-like planet once more.

They walked for hours, and Amy got more and more tired as they continued to travel. All of the streets they went down started to look the same to her, and she began to lag behind, her previously upbeat footsteps morphing into uninspired ones.

'Doctor. We've been walking for hours. How long do we have to-'

'Ssh!' he interrupted, putting a hand out to stop her from moving, subconciously preparing himself to defend them both if needs me.

Amy used this pause in movement to examine their whereabouts. They seemed to have travelled out of the city area and into a slightly more suburban area. Many of the houses around them were quite unkempt, some with broken windows that had been taped over, and dilapidated looking gardens littered with all manner of weeds.

The Doctor had stopped just arounf the corner of a small, dark alleyway that seemed to take one back into the city, almost, if one dared to ever go down it. A crash suddenly came from inside it and the Doctor quickly dashed backwards, pushing Amy back as he went, so that both of them were pressed against the wall, just out of sight or whatever it was in the alleyway.

'Listen.' he said. 'Do you hear that?'

Amy listened, and, sure enough, just loud enough to be heard from where they were, there was a sound of violent scurrying and scratching and sometimes frustrated growling coming from inside the alleway.

'What is it?' Amy whisphered.

'I don't know. Let's have a look, shall we?' he murmured, and crept around the corner and into the alleyway.

_It's probably just a dog, or something, _Amy thought to herself, trying to calm her nerves. _A dog, or some mutant mice things. Nothing to worry about._

No sooner had the Doctor stepped into the alleyway than a small cardboard box was thrown in his general direction. It missed by a mile and came to a rest on the pavement outside. 'Get out of here!' a croaky female voice spat. The alleyway was completely soaked in darkness - you wouldn't be visible unless, like the Doctor, you stood at the very end of it, one way or another.

'Why? What are you? Who's there?' the Doctor asked.

'We don't associate ourselves with _your sort _anymore.' another voice hissed, this one definitely male.

'My sort?'

'Your people, the people of Coval twisted us. We choose not to live by your standards anymore.'

The Doctor smiled one of his 'trying-to-get-out-of-a-situation' smiles, quickly replying, 'Oh no! No need to worry there, then! I'm not Covalian.'

There was a pause.

'What are you then?' the first voice demanded.

'What you are _not _is the only thing that matters right now, if it gets us out of being attacked.' Amy murmured, sounding sulky.

'Girl!' the first voice exclaimed. 'You are human! How did you get here?'

'Answer my question first,' Amy said, creeping out from behind the Doctor. 'How does everyone on this planet know that I'm human?'

'Your smell, obviously.' the male voice replied.

'Smell?'

'Ah, yes, Amy, I forgot to tell you.' the Doctor cut in. 'Covalians tend to have an enhanced sense of smell.' He spoke only to the people in the alleyway when he continued. 'But I know that that's not what you are.'

He took a slow step forward, shadows collecting all over him as he moved further. 'So what are you?'

There was a scuffle and a few quiet hisses before the female spoke up again. 'I can tell you what we were.' She sounded almost sad.

'Were?' Amy echoed. 'Why, what are you now?'

'This.' the voice said, after another tense pause. And then the owner of the voice stepped out of the shadows.

* * *

**A/N: **Eep! Sorry for the verging on crappy-drama-esque cliffhanger! :/ :P


	6. Despair

**A/N: **Again, sorry for the wait :(, although I should probably stop apologizing because school starts tommorrow, so expect less frequent updates. : Thanks to everyone who favourited, +story alerted and reviewed - I couldn't be bothered to do the list of names this time, sorry :S :) - it means a lot. I read a lot of 'Dun dun DUUUN!'s. :D Enjoy!

* * *

**Macabre**

**Chapter 6: Despair**

A tall woman stepped into view. She looked roughly in her late twenties, and would have been quite pretty if it weren't for how unbearably thin she was. She had dark bags under her eyes and she had an almost wild look about her. She was wearing an off-white blouse and jeans that were too big for her. Her shoes were scuffed and falling apart, and all of her clothes were tattered.

'What happened?' Amy said quietly, again with a compassionate look in her eyes. The woman looked like she had lost all hope, and this brought a surge of sadness upon Amy. Although, the way the woman had said 'This' before she had made herself visible had been slightly melodramatic, she thought.

That was when Amy noticed that her eyes were red. She tried to look as if she hadn't noticed anything as the woman continued to talk.

'Me and two more people came here in the year 2154. But we got tricked into one of the ways of life available here. It had sounded brilliant at first - so luxurious, so satisfying. We accepted all the changes.' She stared off wistfully into the distance before blinking and then scowling. 'But the woman who said she would take care of us left. She stopped giving us food. We went to her and begged for her care. And she laughed.' The woman paused to laugh herself, bitterly and incredulously. 'Eventually, we became so different from our old selves, we realised we couldn't go back home.'

'Then they sent the rescue team.' the Doctor said slowly, as if realising something.

'Doctor? What rescue team?' Amy queried, intrigued.

'Is your name Emily Joeliss, by any chance?' the Doctor asked, directing his question at the woman, who blinked.

'Yes. How do you know?' she questioned suspiciously.

'I just know things.' he explained. 'So you didn't go back home because you'd changed. Then they sent the rescue team. Why didn't they go back? Were they changed too?'

Emily's bottom lip trembled, and then she sank to the floor, looking utterly defeated. 'No.' she managed to choke out. 'We didn't want to, mean to...' she trailed off.

'You didn't mean to do what?' Amy prompted, sounding worried.

'Drain them.' The male voice suddenly piped up from the shadows. The owner of this voice stepped out of the dark, revealing himself to be a boy in his mid-teens, with messy dark hair that covered one of his eyes, nearly both. He was wearing a hoodie, baggy trousers that reached his knees and a pair of battered DM boots. Amy could just about see the tops of mismatched socks peeking out of the top of them. He also had dark bags under his eyes, also red, and shared Emily's too-skinny trait.

'Aha! Ziggy Bronshelle! You were a trainee Space Pilot, am I right?' the Doctor said, happy that he recognised him too.

Ziggy nodded solemnly. 'Yeah. Ziggy's a nickname though. My real name's Michael.'

'Yeah, but Ziggy sounds so much better. Now, where were we?'

'You asked what happened to the rescue team. I said we drained them.'

'Drained them?' Amy asked. 'Doesn't that sound a bit Dracula?' She was joking when she said this.

Ziggy smirked, looking her in the eye. 'Well, exactly.'

Emily glared at him. 'Don't start all that again, Zig.'

He ignored her, and suddenly looked incredibly excited. 'I've developed a theory. Didn't take long, but you know, why would it? After we changed, we found that we didn't sleep, that our senses had improved by loads, that we were suddenly super fast and agile. Then, after we-' he faltered, looking grim. 'After we drank from that rescue team, I thought that there was only one thing that we could possibly be.'

'Ziggy, please.' Emily cut in, exasperated.

'No, let him finish.' the Doctor said. 'I'm curious. Whaddya reckon, Zig?'

Ziggy paused for effect, then said, 'I reckon we're vampires.'

**-DW=3-**

'Vampires?' Amy echoed, shocked. Then she looked annoyed. 'Please don't tell me you're really fish in disguise.' She remembered the trip to Venice with a grimace.

Emily frowned. 'No, we're not.' She turned to Ziggy. 'And we're not vampires either.' she said sternly.

Ziggy raised his hands, palms facing outwards, in a mock surrender. 'Okay, cool. Whatever.'

'What were you doing in here before we interrupted?' the Doctor asked suddenly. 'Only we heard a noise, well, a lot of noises.'

'Oh. We were supposed to be eating, but our damn go-between got the crates mixed up.' Emily gestured to a small crate on the floor, and Ziggy nudged it forward into the light with his foot. Amy recognized its contents as the fruits they had eaten at the ball.

'Doctor, it's those-'

'Ostregines.' he put in for her. 'I thought they looked a bit off when we had them. This is what they are really like.' He pointed to the ones in the crate. He picked one up and bit into it, then nodded. 'Yep, these are the real deal. No metallic taste or anything. And, if we wait...' The Doctor paused for a while, and then smiled. 'No crazy after-effects!'

'You've eaten the...um, metallic-tasting ones?' Ziggy squeaked, greed suddenly filling his eyes. 'Where did you get them?'

'At the Sunset Lounge.' Amy replied uncertainly.

Emily sighed and clapped her palm to her forhead. 'So that's where the mix-up happened.'

'What mix-up?' the Doctor asked.

'Well...we got the guy who delivers the Ostregines to the Sunset Lounge, and one of the chefs there to work as a team so we wouldn't starve.' Ziggy admitted. 'The chef takes a crate or two and spikes 'em with the stuff we needed, and the delivery guy takes those two back and drops them off at an agreed place - right here, in this case.'

'Wouldn't the rest of the staff notice when they had two crates missing?' Amy asked.

'Yes, and they spiked the Ostregines with what?' the Doctor questioned.

'The chef secretly places an order for two more crates than necessary.' Emily answered quickly, looking like she was trying to aoid something.

'And the Ostregines are spiked with...well, blood.'

'Oooooh.' the Doctor said in quiet realisation.

'Whose blood?' Amy demanded. 'What's with this whole vampire thing?'

'Enough!' Emily shrieked, angry tears streaming down her face. 'Stop talking about it! Please...' She looked distraght as she sat in a shivering heap, her head in her hands. Amy stepped closer and put her arm around her, and everyone fell silent.


	7. Red

**A/N: **Agh, I'm so sorry! D: I would have got this chapter up more quickly, but it wasn't finished, and on school days (Mon-Thurs) I'm not allowed on the computer, unless I'm doing homework. -_- Hope you enjoy!

Please review, I haven't had e-mails in what feels like weeks! :S

* * *

**Macabre**

**Chapter 7: Red**

Emily's crying quietened a little as Amy put her arm around her. Amy knew that Ziggy was giving her a strange, approving-but-not-understanding look, but she ignored him and tried her best to comfort the woman beside her.

'I'm sorry I asked so many questions. I'm just...confused, I suppose.' she said.

Emily looked up at her and fixed her with a questioning stare. Amy began to draw back a little when she didn't look away or say anything, the tiniest amount of instinctive fear and caution dotting her mind.

But then Emily smiled. 'You're one of the first people who has accepted us. You and your friend over there.' she nodded at the Doctor, who nodded and smiled back. Amy turned to look at him and saw that he was beaming at her as Emily went on to say, 'Thank you.' and give her hand a grateful squeeze.

The Doctor clearly had trouble keeping his emotions muted, because he then announced proudly, 'Amy Pond, one of the most open-minded people I know.'

She rolled her eyes. 'I wonder why...' she said dryly.

'Nothing to do with me waltzing in and out of your childhood, obviously.'

'No.'

They decided to stop joking around when they realised that Emily and Ziggy were quite lost by that point.

Amy got up and stood by the Doctor once more. 'You're hungry, or, thirsty, right?' she asked the pair.

'Are we?' Ziggy exclaimed, rushing up to her.

'Well, you could stay with us at the Sunset Lounge for a while. Yeah, get you cleaned up, fed, beds. Couldn't they Doctor?'

'I suppose so. But one more question before we leave.'

'Doctor, I-'

Emily spoke up. 'No, it's alright, Amy. Let him ask.'

'You said that you came here with two other people Emily. You've only got one with you.'

'You want to know what happened to Eric, don't you.' she sighed. Ziggy bit his lip. 'The change had a mad effect on him - he got extremely feral, and ran away into the city. Lord only knows what he's doing now.' For a moment she looked irritated, but then smiled. 'Let's go. Ziggy looks tired.'

'But! Another thing!' the Doctor interrupted again. Amy rolled her eyes.

'What now?'

'I want to take you two to the TARDIS and see what you really are.'

Ziggy looked puzzled. 'TARDIS?'

'Oh, yeah, forgot to tell you.' the Doctor replied awkwardly. 'It's my...'

'-mobile home! ...Type thing.' Amy finished his sentence without thinking, causing him to grimace.

There was a pause, and then the group left the alleyway.

**-DW=3-**

'This is a mobile home.' Ziggy said sarcastically, raising his eyebrows.

The four space travellers stood outside the TARDIS, Emily and Ziggy staring up at it in bemusement, Amy and the Doctor shifting and looking around uncomfortably.

'Yes.' the Doctor said after a moment. 'Do you want to...I mean, you should go inside.'

'Yeah.' Ziggy replied, sounding distracted.

The Doctor took Amy to one side and murmured, 'It isn't usually like this. They're usually like, wow, big spaceship! And it's blue!' He sounded mildly distraught.

'Yes, but they haven't got past the whole 'it-looks-like-a-box' part yet.' Amy whisphered back. 'Give them time!'

'Can we...?' Emily asked the pair, gesturing at the TARDIS.

'Yes, of course.' the Doctor said, looking more pleased than he had done a moment before.

He unlocked the doors and then pushed open the doors. Ziggy and Emily stepped inside with confidence.

Confidence which soon faltered, and was replaced by sheer wonder.

'Oh, wow!' Emily breathed.

'Okay, seriously. Not a mobile home. More like, the eptiome of coolness. Magnified!' Ziggy said, sounding deadly serious.

The pair stared around at the console room, taking in the huge column in the centre and the complicated-looking controls.

'So.' the Doctor said after he thought they had acclimatised. 'Where do we start?'

He saw a shudder pass through Ziggy's body, which he took as slight fear or nerves. But then it happened again, the shudder more violent this time and Emily turned around, looking anxious.

'You might want to put him in quarantine or something.' she said fearfully. 'It's happening again.'

'What is?' the Doctor asked, as a quiet, guttural growl was emmitted from Ziggy, who still hadn't turned around.

'Just get him out of here.' Emily pleaded, keeping her voice calm but trembling all the same. 'He needs to be somewhere on his own, where he can't get out or hurt anybody.'

'Why? What's happening to him?' Amy asked, looking worried. Ziggy's breathing was ragged, and he looked like he was trying to hold something in.

'Trust her.' Ziggy said, his voice strained. He stayed facing away from them as he spoke. 'I haven't got much time before it takes over, just do as she says.' He was balling his hands into fists and then unclenching them at his sides, his knuckles turning white when he tucked his fingers into his palms.

'Before what takes over?' the Doctor asked, anger rising slowly in his voice.

'Bloodlust.' Emily said simply, her face twisted with anxiety. The Doctor looked at Ziggy, who was now shaking so violently that he looked like he might collapse.

Emily ran over to him and put her hands on his shoulders, looking like she was trying to soothe him and restrain him at the same time. Ziggy let out an angry, dispairing scream.

Amy looked at the Doctor, panicking. 'Doctor, you have to do what Emily says. We'll get the facts later!' The Doctor looked at her for a moment, hesitating, and then bolted for Ziggy, pushing both of his hands behind his back and pushing him out of the room, Amy and Emily in hot pursuit.

'We need to find a room,' the Doctor murmured, mostly to himself.

And then Ziggy screamed again, this time in pure rage, and flung himself away from the Doctor. He ran a few yards away down a corridor and then turned to stare at them all, breathing heavily and looking frighteningly hungry.

The other three began to back away slowly, the Doctor assuming a protective stance in front of Emily and Amy. Amy could feel her heart thumping in her chest, and wished that the TARDIS had some advice about potential vampires.

'You.' Ziggy growled suddenly, making Amy jump. Then she looked at him more closely, and saw that he was looking directly into her eyes. The Doctor and Emily looked at her fearfully.

'Amy, run!' the Doctor cried, pushing her back down the corridor and running after her, just as Ziggy pounced. Emily hesitated, then followed Ziggy, hoping to stop him.

'Ziggy, stop!' Emily yelled as she ran, terrified for not just her life, but everyone else's. But her shout simply echoed around the TARDIS, falling upon deaf ears.


	8. Thanatophobia

**A/N: **Thank you to **phantomforever42 **for reviewing, and to **Moverandshaker **and **DancingSpy, **for fave-ing and +Story Alerting.

Sorry for the wait, school and homework and writer's block got in the way. But thanks to staying up 'till God knows I managed to get this chapter finished. :D

WARNING: HERE BE FLUFF! :D

* * *

**Macabre**

**Chapter 8: Thanatophobia**

'Keep moving, don't ever stop!' the Doctor ordered as he and Amy sprinted around the TARDIS, attempting to shake off the adolescent that was charging after them.

'Why me?' Amy asked, sounding more melodramatic than she had intended.

'Your blood probably smells the best, I don't know! No time for questions.' he replied, pushing her away from a room she was about to enter and into yet another corridor. 'No rooms.' the Doctor said. 'Especially if they only have one door.'

Amy nodded, hoping that her stamina would allow her to keep going. She could just about hear Emily's distressed cries from behind them over her quick breathing and the beating of her heart, which felt like it could burst out of her chest.

'Give her to me!' Ziggy roared at the Doctor.

'No! You'd regret it if I did!' he called back.

'But I need her blood!'

'Hers specifically, or just blood in general?'

'Argh!' Ziggy suddenly flung himself through the air at an angle, skimming over the Doctor and slamming Amy into the nearest room.

'DOCTOR!' she yelped.

The Doctor ran in after them, but as soon as he entered the room, Ziggy pushed him into the wall and held him there with one hand. 'Don't. Say. A word.' he said threateningly, and then let go and stalked over to Amy, who was in a heap on the floor. Emily appeared in the doorway, and collapsed there, not daring to say or do anything.

The Doctor, unwilling spectator, watched the scene before him unfold. As Ziggy approached Amy, the Doctor stared in wonderment as he noticed the fear drain from her expression, to be replaced by a look of interest and...a need to please.  
She straightened up (although remained on the floor) and gazed at Ziggy longingly, making the Doctor grind his teeth together. He wanted to do something desperately, but was frozen to the spot, completely fixated by the way Amy was reacting to the possible-vampire stood before her.

'Please.' Ziggy said, crouching down in front of her. 'I don't want to hurt anyone...' he sighed and let his fingers gently rest on Amy's cheek, and she gasped. The Doctor took a step forward, but no sooner had he done so had Ziggy turned his head round to glare at him, angry and vicious.

The Doctor wasn't used to fear.

'Don't-' he began, but Ziggy got up and grasped his throat.

'Didn't I tell you not to say a word?' he spat.

'Why not me?' the Doctor questioned, gasping for breath. 'Why not my blood?  
'No.' Amy whispered, but it fell upon deaf ears. She sounded crestfallen.

Ziggy looked the Doctor up and down, releasing his hand from the Doctor's neck. 'You're different. You _smell_ different. I'm not taking risks.' he said, pointing a finger at the Doctor, who frowned but said nothing.

Ziggy returned to Amy and she stood up, staring him in the eye. Her gaze was hungry, hopeful.

'Ssh, now,' Ziggy murmured, tilting her head up gently and leaning in towards her neck, 'you know exactly what to do.'

Her eyes fluttered shut as Ziggy opened his mouth.

Suddenly, he yowled, and Amy jumped, abruptly out of the strange trance she had been in. Her eyes widened to find Emily savagely ramming a syringe into the side of his neck. Then, she removed it and slowly, he fell to the floor.

'That,' Emily said, panting and gesturing to the syringe she held, 'is for emergencies.'  
Her whole body shook with adrenaline and shock.

'Doctor,' Amy demanded. 'What happened just then?' She was evidently shaken and still quite scared.

Emily answered for him. 'Ziggy decided he was thirsty. His 'vampire instincts',' - she put air quotes around the words - 'kicked in and put you both into a state of immense vulnerability - you wanted to give up your blood, and he,' -she pointed at the Doctor -'couldn't do anything to save you.'

'How did he do it, though?' Amy asked, curious.

'We don't know. It's something we've been trying to figure out for a while.'

The Doctor glanced between the two women and the sedated teenager as the conversation continued, and he wanted to scream. He refused to be helpless. If Emily hadn't been there...Amy would probably be dead.

As the realisation and shock hit him, he gasped, and then staggered blindly out of the room. What could he do? They had to get out...

'Doctor?' he heard Amy call, but he ignored her, ramming his hands over his ears and picking up his pace. He had to get away from all that had just happened.

He ended up in the library. He sat on the floor, resting his head against a bookshelf, eyes squeezed shut.

_What could you have done? It's not a crime to be ignorant of facts as long as you still have the ability to accept them._

The TARDIS' gentle voice whirled around his head, a smooth, comforting noise.

'It is if I lose her.' he said angrily.

There was silence, which the Doctor took as the TARDIS not knowing what to say to that.

Just then, Amy appeared beside him.

'Hey.' she said nonchalantly, sitting down in front of him and crossing her legs.

'Hello.' He opened his eyes halfway, exhausted, and looked at her, at what he could have lost.

The two didn't say much for a while. The lack of noise was awkward.

'Ziggy just came round.' she informed him. 'He says he's sorry.'

'Not his fault.' the Doctor replied bitterly.

Amy clamped her hand over his. 'It wasn't anybody's fault!' she dictated fiercely, and the Doctor's eyes snapped completely open in surprise. 'Don't you go blaming yourself, feeling sorry for yourself, because it will do my head in if you decide that, once again, other people's lives are your responsibility.' She glared at him, daring him to argue.

'They were, once. A long time ago.' He said sadly.

'Exactly, a long time ago!' she repeated, frustrated. 'We can travel to the future, so stop living in the past!' He frowned at her. 'No offence.' She added, dropping her gaze to the floor.

There was another pause, albeit less uncomfortable than the previous one.

'What would you do if…' Amy began cautiously. 'I mean, if I-'

'No.'

'What?'

'No. Don't even talk about that.' The Doctor said sharply. 'It's bad enough that losing you is an actual possibility.'

'I trust you.' Amy said earnestly, crawling over to him and burying her head in his shoulder.

The Doctor smiled. 'Thank you.'

'For trusting you?' Amy asked, raising her head and looking at him intently.

'For never giving up. '

'How could I?' she said, smiling, and then tilted her head towards him. Their lips met and Amy wrapped her arms around his neck.

They broke apart and grinned at each other, and then Amy turned serious. 'We should go check up on Emily and Ziggy. Emily says she wants to explain something, and Ziggy's feeling pretty terrible.'

'Yeah, let's go.'

The pair stood up and made their way back to the console room.

* * *

**A/N: **'Thanatophobia' is fear of death, by the way. I couldn't find the name for fear of the unknown.


	9. Exploration

**N/A: Judging by my update patterns, I have decided that I will update every Sunday, hopefully. **** I am so glad that I'm finally getting this chapter up! Sorry if it's a little short, but I didn't want to bombard you with information. :/

* * *

**

**Macabre: Chapter 9**

**Exploration**

'Hello-'

'Oh, God! Doctor, Amy, I'm so sorry!' Ziggy cried hoarsely, running over to them. He looked like he had been crying.

'Hey, no worries.' Amy said reassuringly. 'You didn't mean for it to happen.'

'Yes!' the Doctor exclaimed. 'Speaking of, apparently you want to tell us something.' he said to Emily.

'Oh, yes.' she said, and then brandished another syringe, identical to the one she had used before. 'We got given a whole pile of these the morning after we had been changed. They were just there. There was a note with them.'

'What did it say?' the Doctor asked inquisitively.

'Some quote.' Ziggy said.

'Yes, it said...well, I've got it here.' Emily rummaged in her pocket and drew out a crumpled piece of paper. On it, in delicate, cursive writing and encased by speech marks was written:

"The thirst for powerful sensations takes the upper hand both over fear and over compassion for the grief of others."

'Ah,' the Doctor said. 'Anton Chekhov. Russian short story writer, playwright and physician. Victorian era, or thereabouts.'

'Well, I think Ziggy and I understand the 'thirst for powerful sensations' part.' Emily began, grimacing. Ziggy nodded.

'Yeah,' he agreed. 'I mean, it's a relief to drink blood...gives you a sense of well-being, you know?'

'And the quote does, in a way, explain how the bloodlust makes us selfish and cold.' Emily said.

'Right,' Amy chipped in. 'But the note didn't tell you what the syringes were for?'

'No. It was scary when I first used it on Ziggy - I mean, what if it had killed him?'

'Well exactly.' the Doctor said. 'I think that there's something awfully suspicious about that note.'

'What do you mean?' Amy asked.

'Well, either the person who left the note didn't want you to know what the medicine in the syringes did...'

'Or?' Ziggy prompted.

'Or someone else tampered with it before it got to you.'

'So?' Amy questioned.

'So someone definitely didn't want you to be able to sedate each other. We just need to find out who and why.'

There was a pause while everyone pondered this, the two 'vampires' widening their eyes.

'However!' the Doctor cried suddenly, causing the others to jump. 'Before we do any of that, I need to do some research involving you two.' He looked at Ziggy and Emily.

'Medical bay?' Ziggy asked for a confirmation of where they needed to go.

'How did you know the TARDIS has a medical bay?'

Ziggy gave the Doctor a funny look. 'I didn't…I just, you know, assumed…'

'TARDIS?' Emily questioned, cocking her head to one side.

'Yeah,' Amy replied, smiling reassuringly. 'It's the name of the brand of…um, caravan that this is.'

'This isn't a caravan – how could it be?' Ziggy said, gesturing to the space around him and the console.

'Okay, it's a time machine. But that isn't important right now!' the Doctor said, grasping both Emily and Ziggy by the wrist and dragging them towards the medical bay.

**-DW=3-**

The medical bay was a large room that contained three beds on one side, and a pile of medical equipment on the other. Almost everything in the room was white – the floor, the walls, the sheets on the bed. The whole room gave off a rather clinical vibe.

'Are you both okay with blood tests?' the Doctor asked, striding over to the jumble of medical things and rummaging around in it.

'I don't see why not.' Emily said, shrugging.

'But what if we don't have any blood? Like, that's the whole deal with vampires, right?' Ziggy said mischievously, earning himself a smack on the arm from Emily.

'You don't even have to take that into consideration, Ziggy,' the Doctor called back, grunting as he pulled out a huge, dark green box from underneath bunches of equipment. 'You both have blood, that's for sure.'

'How do you know?' Ziggy challenged.

'Because, when you were charging after Amy and I, I saw your face go all red. If you hadn't had blood, that wouldn't have happened.' The Doctor explained confidently.

'So we're not vampires!' Emily exclaimed happily.

'That's what the evidence is claiming. Either that or you're a special kind of vampire.' He turned to face them, wearing a pair of protective gloves and holding out a tourniquet. He shot them a mad grin. 'Who's first?'

**-DW=3-**

'Cool…' Ziggy murmured a few moments later, watching his blood fill the small tube that was connected to his arm. Emily was sat on the edge of the bed nearest the door, eyeing Ziggy with mild disgust and pressing a bit of gauze sponge to her forearm.

Once the tube was full, the Doctor disposed of the needle he had used and handed Ziggy a similar sponge. He labelled the tube and turned to face them. 'Now all we need to do is get results!' He beamed.

'You act like a professional doctor when you do blood tests,' Amy commented, quirking an eyebrow.

'Yeah, well, when the opportunity arises…' He sniffed and took his gloves off. Amy laughed.

'What if it's something bad?' Emily fretted, looking up at him. 'What if we never turn back?'

'Oh, lighten up!' the Doctor smiled. 'Don't assume the worst until…no, just don't assume the worst.'

'Okay.' She said shakily, giving him a small smile.

'Besides, you don't have time to worry about the results.' He said, beginning to walk out of the medical bay. 'The TARDIS scans samples super quick!'

'Oh, wait!' Ziggy exclaimed, bounding over to him. 'Didn't you say this place was a time machine?' He sounded hopeful.

'Yep.'

'Then can we…?'

'I think perhaps not,' Amy intervened. 'We might come back here but land in the wrong century or something.'

The Doctor looked offended. 'Amy Pond, I am wounded!' he joked, pushing a hand to one of his hearts.

'Amy Pond? Is that your name?' Ziggy asked.

'Yeah. Why? Is that important?'

'No, it's just…it's a cool name.'

'Kind of…fairytale.' Emily continued. 'In a way.'

Amy smiled. However this expression swiftly changed to a scowl when she heard the Doctor murmur, 'Not as fairytale as Amelia, though…' She smacked him on the back of the head as he strode out of the medical bay and into the console room.

'Amy!' he cried, turning around. She bit her lip to contain her laughter, but then inhaled deeply, formed a serious expression and said, 'Don't call me Amelia.'

* * *

**N/A: Finally, no cliffhanger! **** Reviews = happy tirocno. Happy tirocno = Better chapters (fingers crossed). So fill up my inbox with **_**[+Story Review]**_**s! Please? :3**


	10. Analysis

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter! I finally wrote it!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favourite and added to their story alerts, as always. **

**Sorry if this chapter is a bit short. Also, sorry if my medical explanations are a bit wrong. :S**

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

**Macabre**

**Chapter 10: Analysis**

A beep from the TARDIS console told the group that the test results had come through. The Doctor darted over and swung the screen round so that everyone could see. This was, however, a pointless action, as most of the information on it was in Gallifreyan.

'Right.' he said. There was a pause, and then his eyes widened progressively as he issued a series of surprised noises. 'Oh. Oh! OH!'

'What?' Amy demanded sharply, sounding irritated.

He turned to Ziggy and Emily. 'Firstly, you are not vampires.'

Emily sighed in relief. In contrast, Ziggy looked slightly disgruntled.

'Secondly, there is a way for you to go back to normal.'

At this, both of the non-vampires stared at him hopefully.

'But that's amazing!' Emily cried, beaming.

'Hang on a minute,' Amy cut in. 'If they're not vampires, then what are they?'

The Doctor smiled excitedly. 'Infected! Come on, I'll show you!' He ran out of the console room, the others following eagerly.

**-DW=3-**

They found themselves sat on the floor of a cluttered, dimly-lit room that was full of rusty pieces of engineering equipment. Amy spied a blow torch in the corner, and was about to question why it was here when she was brought abruptly back to earth by the sound of a harsh tapping on paper. She looked up to see the Doctor tapping at a flipchart with a metal stick. On the flipchart were two sketchy stick men, and next to it, a red splodge, drawn by crayon, that was labelled 'blood'.

'You two have a strange kind of blood infection. It starts off in the blood and then travels up to your brain, altering the way your mind works slightly, and what messages it gives out.' The Doctor grabbed a pen, and drew a line working its way up from one of the stick man's arms and up into the brain. For emphasis, he scribbled all over the blood splodge until it turned a strange brown colour.

'So we're on drugs, basically? Is that what it is? We've been supplied some kind of drug?'

'Yes, in a way. Now, obviously this infection needs a way to survive, and it evidently has one, or else your immune systems would have fought it off ages ago. In that sense, it's not a powerful infection at all. It's pretty easy to get rid of.'

'So how has it been staying alive?' Amy asked.

'Guess.' The Doctor prompted, raising an eyebrow and shooting the group a sly smile.

Suddenly, Emily gasped in realisation and Ziggy cried, 'It needs blood!'

'Not just blood, but a fresh, non-infected supply of blood.' The Doctor replied. 'The infection is a bit stupid. It infects all of your blood, but then there's no way it can go on living. It's done its job; there is nothing else for it to do so it starts to die. It doesn't have a method of multiplying, see? Once it begins to die it panics, kind of like an adrenaline rush. That's when that newly-altered brain of yours starts sending messages to your mouth and things, telling you that you want blood, and you want a lot of it.'

'Ah.' Emily said, nodding sincerely.

'Is that why I have those weird…moments? You know, when I…' Ziggy started fearfully, sounding ashamed.

'No. That's an extreme case. That only happens when you've been deprived of blood for so long that your new 'instincts' take over and you can't think of anything else.'

'Is your body starting to fight the infection off when that happens?' Emily asked curiously.

'Yes. But the infection doesn't like that at all. Hence the murderous stuff.'

'Hey,' Amy said, frowning. 'How did Ziggy do that thing before? You know, when he kind of put us in a trance?'

'Aha!' the Doctor crowed joyously. 'Pheromones!'

'What?' Amy and Ziggy asked in unison.

'Well, you know what a pheromone is, right? A secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species, to quote Wikipedia.' The Doctor said. 'Ziggy wanted blood, and you were the only possible person who could give him it. Emily was also infected, and I'm not human, so we were eliminated as candidates for the job.'

'You're not human?' Emily squeaked.

There was an awkward pause.

'We'll get into that later. Anyway,' he continued, leaving both Emily and Ziggy momentarily stunned. 'Ziggy was after you, and of course he wanted you to give up your blood.' He grabbed another pen, drew stripes of orange hair on to one stickman, and then took a black pen and drew a smiley face, complete with fangs, on to the other. 'So, he unknowingly released some pheromones which caused you to want to give him your blood…and more.' he explained, drawing love hearts around the stickman-Amy's head. 'He also made me feel incredibly scared. Too scared to move.' He drew another stick man under the blood splodge and put a sad face on it. He paused, and then added a bow tie. Amy rolled her eyes.

'So I did all that, just by releasing some weird chemicals?' Ziggy asked, astounded.

The Doctor nodded. 'Yes.'

There was a long silence, in which the group took time to process all of the new information.

'Woooooow.' Ziggy breathed.

**-DW=3-**

'So you're an alien?' Emily asked, seeming for comfortable with the idea than she had a moment ago, as the group stepped out of the TARDIS and into the streets.

'Yes. But I'm a nice alien.' The Doctor reassured her, giving her a lopsided grin.

'Well, I'd figured as much, seeing as you've been extremely hospitable over the past…well, however much time has been since we met.'

'Thank you!'

'So, where are we going?' Amy asked as the Doctor lead them about through the busy planet.

'Back to the Sunset Lounge.'

'Why?'

'I want to see if that body is still there.'

'Doctor, you know it's not there. They started moving it before we left.'

'That doesn't mean it's not still on the premises.'

'But-'

'No! I won't have it! No buts!'

Amy reluctantly gave in.

'What body?' Ziggy chipped in.

'Oh.' The Doctor said, coming to a halt and turning around to explain. 'Before we met you, we were at the Sunset Lounge, and a dead body dropped from a few floors above us. Not a pretty sight to say the least.'

'How did the person die?'

'I don't know. But I might just be able to get a post-mortem result out of someone there. I want to compare the dead man to you and Emily.'

'What?' Emily demanded.

'Show me your neck.' The Doctor suddenly said.

'But-'

'I told you, no buts!' he shouted, pushing Emily's hair aside to examine both sides of her neck. Finding what he was looking for, he stepped away and continued to take them to the Sunset Lounge.

'Doctor, what's going on?' Amy asked, but her question was ignored.

**A/N: I've drawn my idea of what the Doctor's flipchart would look like if it was real, so I might upload it to the internetz and post a link to it later on, if I can be bothered. :P ;)**


	11. Shadows

**A/N: Oh my God, I am SO sorry! I should have updated sooner, I know. **** But I have tried to give you all a long chapter this time to make up for it. Enjoy! Thanks for reviews and faves and stuff. :)

* * *

**

**Macabre**

**Chapter 11: Shadows**

The group arrived at the Sunset Lounge, where yet another party was in full swing. The Doctor strode in through the entrance to the hotel and into the foyer, and then sprinted over to the spot where the body had landed before. As Amy had expected, the body had been moved.

'See? I told you that it would have been moved!' she said exasperatedly.

'Why do you need to see it, anyway?' Ziggy asked, stepping forward to join the pair.

'I don't think that you just got this blood infection out of nowhere. I think someone gave it to you with a purpose. And before you all look at me like I'm mad, think again. Because I have evidence! Or at least, I will have.' He walked back out of the building and looked around.

'How is the corpse going to help with your evidence?' Emily queried.

'The corpse will _be _my evidence, if I can find it.' He sauntered around a corner which was illuminated by a harsh light and around the back of the building.

'Seriously, Doctor, does it matter? Can't we just get these two healthy and then get out of here?' Amy sighed.

'Not if I'm right, we can't. I think that there's something strange going on involving that blood infection.'

'It makes us vampires.' Ziggy said, rolling his eyes. 'Of course it's strange.'

'We're not vampires,' Emily said sharply, narrowing her eyes.

'Yes, but that's not the point I am trying to make!' the Doctor interrupted their bickering, still looking for the dead body. He got out the sonic screwdriver and shone it around until it made a high-pitched series of short beeps. He began to walk further around the back of the building until they were in almost complete darkness.

'What are you saying, then?' Amy asked.

The green glow of the sonic screwdriver then illuminated a limb. A pale, limp arm was hanging out of the side of a bin, and as the Doctor and the others slowly approached it they saw that the arm was attached to the rest of a body.

'There it is.' The Doctor murmured.

'So, what did you want to see?' Emily said quietly, peering nervously into the bin.

'Here…' he began, passing Amy the sonic screwdriver. 'I need to see the neck.'

With a little struggle the Doctor and his accomplices managed to retrieve the body from the bin and on to the street. The skin was now tight, dry and white, and was frozen in a state of fear. It saddened Amy to see that neither the policemen nor the staff at the Sunset Lounge had bothered to close his eyes.

The Doctor crouched down next to the body, approaching it with a scientific attitude which contrasted greatly with the emotional expressions on the humans' faces.

'You see the wound on the side of the neck, here?' the Doctor pointed at a small but severe-looking gash in the neck, from which blood had been leaking out of when they had found it. The three nodded. 'Well, it was obviously created in a surge of emotion, be it hunger, or hate, or anything. But if you look at _your _necks…' The Doctor got up and walked over to Emily and Ziggy.

'Our necks are fine, what are you on about?' Ziggy asked, raising an eyebrow.

'No, look!' He beckoned for Amy to take a closer look. 'There's a little mark, just there. A little pinprick.'

'It looks like they've been injected with someth-'Amy's eyes widened slightly as she realised the discovery she had just made. 'Oh. I get it.'

'What?' Emily sounded anxious.

'That man over there, I think he has a wound in his neck because someone wanted his blood or his death, or both.' The Doctor explained. 'But with you two, it's different. They didn't want you dead, they definitely wanted you alive. But, more importantly-'

'They wanted us to be infected!' Ziggy gasped.

'But surely that man's death and our infections can't have been brought about by the same person.'

'Well, exactly. So I reckon that that man was killed by someone like you two, someone with an infection.'

'And that person could have been infected by the same person that infected you!' Amy continued.

'So someone here has ulterior motives, and pretty sinister ones at that. We just have to find who killed our friend here, and then-'

'Well, well, well.'

The group turned around to see Sophia, hands on hips and tapping her foot. Her lips were pursed and her eyes were narrowed in irritation. Ziggy and Emily seemed to recognise her, a feral snarl escaping Ziggy's lips before he could stop it.

'Look what we have here. What are you doing sniffing around the bins, eh?'

'Trying to find nourishment, maybe?' Emily replied bitterly. 'I mean, after you got rid of us, this is what we've had to do.'

'Why don't you just hop back into your spaceship like a good little monkey?' Sophia retorted coolly.

'Wait, _you're _the one who promised to take care of them?' Amy asked, surprised.

Sophia ignored her. 'And why, pray tell, have you got a dead body with you?' The question was directed at the Doctor.

'The question is, why isn't this man buried? Why has he just been chucked out with the rest of the rubbish?'

'He isn't important.'

'He worked for you!' Amy cried.

'This planet doesn't need to be tainted with the impossibly emotional and irrational ways of human beings!' Sophia dictated. 'Just leave. We don't need your interference.'

'So I am interfering with something?' the Doctor challenged. 'This isn't an innocent act out of curiosity to you? I am definitely getting in the way?'

Sophia scowled at him, baring her teeth ever so slightly.

He stepped forward boldly, confidently. 'Who are you?' he demanded.

There was a pause.

Suddenly, Sophia lunged at him. He darted out of the way just in time, and then the group began to run, following the Doctor back into the Sunset Lounge and up the main flight of stairs. They weaved in and out of corridors, up and down stairs, vaulting over and scrambling under obstacles. Sophia was fast, easily keeping up with them all.

As they ran past the Doctor and Amy's room for the second time, the Doctor swiftly ran the card over the card reader. Ziggy and Emily heard the beep and darted inside, ramming the door shut; however, Amy, who had somehow dashed ahead of the Doctor, had to carry on running. The Doctor lost sight of her as Sophia pushed him into a wall in a wild and vicious attempt at an attack, pinning him down and delivering sharp, painful kicks to his shins. It was then that she noticed Amy getting away. Instead of looking angry, however, she smirked and licked her lips. Then, without warning, her hand gripped a lever that the Doctor had failed to see during the chaos and yanked it down.

'What are you-'the Doctor began, but was cut short as his question was answered. The lights in the Sunset Lounge began to flicker and go out. 'No.' he said angrily. 'Let her go. She's not important to you.'

'Oh, I think you'll find she is.' Sophia answered sweetly, before punching the Doctor square in the face. His head rocketed back and smacked hard against the wall, and he collapsed, knocked out. Sophia then ran up the stairs in pursuit of Amy.

Amy didn't know how long she had been running, but she carried on, not feeling at all tired because of the adrenaline that was still pumping around her body. She pelted up endless sets of stairs and around an infinite amount of corners.

Suddenly, all of the lights went out, and the entire floor was plunged into complete darkness. Amy skidded to a halt. She continued on her journey more slowly, her hands out in front of her to feel the way. _It's a good thing I've never been afraid of the dark, _she thought to herself as she felt a wall in front of her and carefully turned around to face a new direction.

Without warning, a sharp pain shot through Amy's neck, and she screamed in agony. There was a dull thud as she fell to the floor. Both sounds echoed around the building.

**-DW=3-**

'Amy? Amy!'

A worried voice filled the air and Amy's eyes slowly opened. The world around her eventually came into focus, and she saw Emily and Ziggy crouched protectively in front of her, Emily examining her and checking for injuries.

'The Doctor…' Amy rasped wearily, her throat inexplicably sore.

'We haven't found him yet, but we'll keep looking.'

The lights were back on again. _Must have been a power cut. _Amy thought absent-mindedly.

'What about Sophia?'

'Gone, as far as we know.' Ziggy answered, not looking at her but glancing around, clearly on the lookout. 'Wonder why she was so mad with us.'

'That's a bit of an understatement.'

Amy looked around woozily, hoping to see the Doctor bounding toward them any time soon. Then, Emily's voice pierced her thoughts.

'Oh my God. Oh, God, Ziggy! Look!' she said, her voice growing shriller as she went on. She pushed Amy's head gently to one side as Ziggy came closer, and then he gasped.

'Oh no.'

'What? What is it?' Amy said, frightened.

'Amy, I think you've been…I mean, you've got…'

'What?'

Ziggy was the one to break the news. 'You're one of us.'

**-DW=3-**

'We have to find the Doctor. Now.' Amy said, rising shakily to her feet. 'And you two have to stay with me at all times, if I have been…infected.' She shivered involuntarily. Her hand went up to her throat and she swallowed.

'Amy?' Emily asked slowly, concerned. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing.' She replied, shaking her head as if trying to shake away the gradually growing pain that was taking over her throat.

'Amy, I think you should sit down. One of us should go to find the Doctor. You look like you need…rest.' Emily said sincerely.

'I'll be fine.' Amy insisted.

'No, Emily's right.' Ziggy said, peering at Amy with a frown. 'What if…something goes wrong? If you have been infected, anything could happen. I would know.'

'No!' Amy shouted, frustrated. '_I _have to find the Doctor. I need him. If you two stay with me, you'll be able to help. You've got some of those syringes, right?' she asked Emily. Emily nodded mutely.

'Well, then. Let's go!' she said confidently, and then led the way out of the hotel and into the night.


	12. Lost

The Doctor awoke, head spinning, to silence. The lights on the walls of the Sunset Lounge seemed harsh and too bright at first, but with a few blinks he could see properly again. He waited until his case of dizziness stopped before rising to his feet, hand to his head in an attempt to remember why he was here.

He remembered a woman…she had been angry, and trying to chase (and kill?) Amy.

_Amy! _His eyes widened and he looked around frantically, as if she would come skipping around a corner any minute.

And the others…Ziggy and Emily…Where had they gone? As far as he could remember, one minute they had been there, the next…

Scowling in determination, the Doctor strode away, searching for anyone who might have answers. And he knew exactly who he was going to hunt down first.

-DW=3-

'Amy,' Emily said timidly, scurrying after her. 'Amy, I think we should go back. What if the Doctor is looking for us? For you?'

'Yeah,' Ziggy agreed, looking less nervous than Emily but apprehensive enough. 'I mean, if you have been infected, it might not be the best idea to be…you know, prowling the streets. There are loads of people here, and something could go wrong…' He jumped back as a car sped past him, clearly on edge.

'Stop worrying!' Amy cried exasperatedly. 'I'll be fine. If the Doctor is looking for us, he'll find us. He always does.'

'Then why are we looking for him?'

Emily's question didn't get through to Amy, as a whole group of women slipped past her. Suddenly, the world around her became a blur, and all she could feel was a growing irritation in her throat. She looked around, the only thing she could see clearly being the group that had just passed her. A smell she couldn't put a name to filled her nostrils and she inhaled steadily, her head rocking backwards slightly, her eyes fluttering half-shut before opening completely again.

She was knocked harshly out of this dream-like state by a rough shove. Suddenly, everything became clear again. She could feel something rocky against her back, so she figured that she must be backed against a wall.

'What were you playing at?' Emily demanded, outraged. She had a tight grip on the front of Amy's shirt and was glaring at her, staring her in the eyes.

'What?' Amy said, frowning. What had she done?

'You nearly went and attacked those girls, I saw you! I told you that we should have waited in the Sunset Lounge!' Emily let go of Amy and began to pace around angrily.

'I don't understand. What happened?'

'Well, you kind of spaced out for a minute there,' Ziggy explained, gesturing wildly with his hands. 'Your eyes went all weird, like you couldn't see anything but those girls. You almost went over to them. We're lucky that Emily grabbed you or else they would have been dinner.'

A sharp stab of pain shot across Amy's torso and she slid down until she was curled up on the floor. It felt like she had missed something, lost something she couldn't live without. She shook as she said, 'I suppose that's it then.'

Ziggy looked concerned and Emily stopped her rapid pacing to look at her, worried. 'What?'

'I'm infected.' Her voice cracked as she said the words, and then, before she could stop it, she was crying, sobbing into her arms in agony.

'Hey, don't worry,' Ziggy said awkwardly. 'I mean, you know, it's not all bad and stuff…'

'And didn't the Doctor say that there was a way to cure it?' Emily said.

This had been meant to comfort Amy, but in actual fact made her cry harder. 'But he didn't say what it was! And now he's somewhere out here, alone, because I left. I left him!'

'Amy, it's not your fault…'

'What am I going to do? I can't live like this. I need to find him…'

'Maybe he'll find us.' Ziggy offered. 'That's what you said, right? He always finds people he wants to find.'

But Amy couldn't stop the tears from falling, no matter how hard she tried to be brave. She couldn't think. All of this was happening too fast, and she needed the Doctor…needed him to tell her that they would all be okay…The only constant thought other than that was one that scared her more than anything she had ever seen had.

_I can't live like this…_

-DW=3-

The Doctor, having found his target, lunged at it with all of his strength and roared, 'Where is she?'

Sophia had screamed when he had pushed her to the ground, but he hadn't felt any happiness. All he felt was anger and loss. And there was no way he was losing anyone…not again…

'Who?' Sophia cried back, incredulous.

'Amy! What did you do to her?'

At this Sophia smiled, causing nausea to quickly pass over him. However, instead of answering him, she replied with another question. 'What makes you think that I'm going to tell you?'

'You will tell me, because I'm much more powerful than you. You don't know the damage I can cause, you don't know what I am, so you're afraid, and you will tell me.'

'In any case, I don't know where she is.' When the Doctor raised an eyebrow she shouted, 'I don't! As far as I know she's run off somewhere with those other two!'

The Doctor seethed and paced around the room he had found Sophia in before deciding to leave. He pointed an accusing finger at her. 'Fine, I'm leaving. But don't think I won't be back.' With that, he darted out of the room and into the streets.

**A/N: **Didn't want to waste your time with my A/N so I kept it at the bottom…because that makes sense… Sorry I took so long to update, hope this satisfies you xD Excuse the angst!


	13. Don't Stop If I Fall

**Macabre**

**Chapter 13: Don't Stop If I Fall**

**A/N: Hell yes! I updated! Finally! I know I took too long, I'm a bad person, I'm sorry. **

**Chapter title taken from Hang 'Em High by the fabulous My Chemical Romance (which I was listening to while I finished this chapter). It kind of makes sense. Right?**

'_Amy?'_

'_Doctor?'_

_Amy turned around, her hair falling around her shoulders in glossy waves. She couldn't see anything, all of her surroundings covered in thick black shadows. However, she then saw two dots of light in front of her, and then a pool of light appeared, revealing the Doctor. She grinned and ran towards him, tears of happiness falling from her eyes. She wrapped her arms around him and he returned the gesture._

'_Doctor, I…I love you.' The words were out before she could stop them, but she didn't mind._

_He smiled at her as he pulled away, and looked like he was going to reply with something similar, when a frown appeared on his face. She remembered the expression – full of concern, worry, confusion…_

'_What's wrong?' she asked, nervous._

'_You're different. Something's happened.' _

'_Oh…I was going to tell you…it's just, it's difficult…' Amy looked at the floor and interlaced her fingers._

'_Don't worry, you can tell me.'_

'_Well…I got infected…' She couldn't admit that without shuddering._

'_Oh, well…' the Doctor said, seeming distracted. There was a pause, and then he began to walk away._

_Amy looked up at the sound of his fading footsteps. 'Don't leave! You can't.'_

_He didn't turn around._

'_Doctor? Doctor!' Amy cried, racing after him, but by this point he was gone._

'Amy, wake up!'

Amy awoke to the sound of her own screaming and the feeling of hands gripping her arms as she was shook back and forth. She had fallen asleep against the wall that she had collapsed against to cry last night. The sight of the darkness and the cold walls around her disappointed her to say the least. Emily was in front of her, looking extremely worried.

'Amy, what's wrong?' she said quietly, releasing her grip on Amy's arms and speaking with a soothing tone.

'I had a bad dream…' she said lamely.

'Wuh...s'going on…' The two looked around to see Ziggy standing up and stretching, looking at them with half-shut eyes.

'Nothing, Zigs. Go back to sleep.' Emily said, and he nodded, running a hand through his hair and sitting back down.

'It was about the Doctor…he found me…'

'Then why were you-'

'He left me.' Amy answered the incomplete question angrily.

'He wouldn't do that Amy, you can't let yourself think that for another second. You two have something, I could see it from the moment we met.'

A flicker of a smile graced Amy's lips before disappearing just as swiftly. 'I know.'

Suddenly, a familiar voice sounded around the streets.

'Have you seen a group of people like this come down here? No? Are you sure, because they are extremely important…'

Amy stood up quickly, and then regretted the action as a wave of dizziness rolled over her. Emily stood up with her, holding her arms out in case Amy fell.

'Amy?' Emily said, confused. Amy gathered her thoughts, taking a few deep breaths to control her dizziness; she strode around the corner of the dark alleyway and out on to the street. Then she felt a smile form on her face.

'Doctor!' she called out, happily but urgently, not wanting him to disappear.

She watched as the man she loved turned around, surprised. His expression showed that he wasn't sure if he was hearing things or not. Sighing, she ran full pelt towards him, tears springing to her eyes.

She reached him long before she thought she would, slamming into him and holding him tight.

'Amy!' She felt the Doctor breathe out a sigh of relief as he wound his arms around her.

'I'll never leave you again, I promise.' She replied, crying now that she had reached her target.

'Hey, it's alright!' he said, attempting to comfort her, baffled by her pledge. 'You know that I'll always find you, right?'

Amy nodded into his shoulder, sniffling. 'I love you.' She murmured hoarsely, and with that, the Doctor hugged her tighter, pressing his face into her hair and squeezing his eyes shut.

'I…Yeah.' He offered lamely, not sure how to reply. He wanted to tell her he loved her too, but every time he tried his throat seemed to close up and he couldn't speak.

'Doctor!' Emily had joined them and called his name, waving frantically. Amy pulled away slightly and his eyes met hers in a moment of understanding before he let go and sauntered over to join the other woman.

'Ugh?' was the muffled response from Ziggy as the three walked back into the alleyway to get him. His eyes locked on to the Doctor. 'Wha-my God!'

'No, just me, but you were close enough.' The Doctor smiled at him. Ziggy beamed.

'So…what now?' Emily asked. 'Back to the-'

'Wait…' the Doctor interrupted her. He glanced around, frowning, sniffing the air around him like a dog.

'Doctor, what are you doing?' Amy questioned, trying to suppress laughter.

His eyes fell on her and then he stopped, staring at her with questioning eyes. This is it, Amy thought, bracing herself. She inhaled deeply, ready to tell him the truth.

'Amy, something's-'

'I'm infected!' she blurted out, not wanting to prolong the nervous anticipation that had wound knots in her stomach.

The Doctor hesitated before replying, not sure how to deal with the news. At his pause, Amy panicked, looking up at him with wide, imploring eyes. 'Don't leave me!' she yelped, stepping towards him, as if being closer to him would make him stay.

The Doctor looked shocked. 'Why on earth would you think that I'd leave you?' he asked, sounding angry.

Relieved, Amy stepped away again, her eyes meeting the floor. 'I don't know…I just, I didn't think that…'

'She had a dream about you leaving,' Emily interjected matter-of-factly.

'Amy.' The Doctor said sagely and she looked up. 'Amy, I won't ever leave you, especially not because of this blood infection. I'm sure it can be easily treated, I know it can. So don't ever think that way ever again.'

She nodded earnestly, then slowly, a smile appeared on her face.

'Now! We find Sophia.' He announced. 'I have a few bones to pick with her.'

'Why?' Emily asked, but the Doctor ignored her question and turned back to Amy.

'Amy, show me your neck.' Amy did, and the Doctor sighed angrily. 'Look.' He said, beckoning for Emily and Amy to see, too.

'She's the same as us,' Ziggy commented, puzzled. 'She was injected, not…attacked. But why would someone-'

'And that is why we are going to find Sophia.' The Doctor concluded, cutting Ziggy off looking at Emily pointedly.

'You think she has something to do with it.' Emily said.

'I think she has a lot to do with it,' the Doctor argued. 'She was the only one who could have infected Amy. If it wasn't her, it took us a long time to find out Amy's state.'

'How will we know where she is?' Amy questioned. 'She's not stupid, she won't have stayed put.'

'Hmm.' Was the Doctor's response. 'Well, we can at least try the Sunset Lounge, anyway. Just in case. If not…well. We'll find her.'

His optimism rubbed off a little on Ziggy and Emily as they walked back to the venue, and Amy forced herself to feel the same, keeping close to the Doctor. As they journeyed on, the prickling feeling in Amy's throat returned. She tried to keep her eyes to the ground, avoiding looking at anyone that could trigger her new instincts. But the sensation grew, and became less irritating and more overwhelming. She looked up at the Doctor to say something about it, but quickly regretted the action as the prickling was taken to new heights just looking at him. She swallowed hard and looked quickly at the floor.

That was the first time that it struck her: _Do I trust myself anymore?_


	14. Grasped

**Macabre**

**Chapter 14: Grasped**

**A/N: Yes, and update! FINALLY!**

**Thank you to yotsuya21 for all of your mad reviews and etcetera (ILOVEYOU) and all of the rest of you awesome people that faved and stuff. I think I've given you all a nice chapter to make up for the wait. How are we all finding the new series? **

Sophia, surprisingly, had not left the Sunset Lounge, or at least if she had, she had returned by the time the Doctor, Amy, Ziggy and Emily got back. She seemed more prepared for the Doctor this time around, and as they all entered the room she fixed him with a steely glare.

'Why did you infect Amy?' the Doctor questioned, ager tinting his calm tone.

Her expression didn't change or falter as she replied. 'I don't see why it matters if I did.'

'It matters, Sophia, more than you could ever imagine. All of these people'-he gestured at the three people with him-'used to belong to a species so wonderful. And you've changed them into something that they're confused about, something they don't know about. It's a terrifying experience. You've taken all that they now by just one injection.'

Sophia shrugged, and Ziggy growled before Emily nudged him and he looked at the floor, blushing.

'Why did you do it?' Ziggy muttered, not daring to look up.

Sophia sighed and rolled her eyes before saying anything. 'This planet, my home planet, is losing its dignity, its roots. A long time ago, everyone in Coval was like you.' She turned to look at Ziggy, Emily and Amy. 'But too many humans decided to come here. You have tainted our way of life.' She said it as if it was simple, obvious.

'How?' Amy exclaimed, angry.

'Coval doesn't need humans here!' Sophia spat viciously. 'How would you feel if another species, however similar to your own, decided to invade and start mixing with your people? Besides, humans do not understand us. They think they do, but they're wrong. They are too stupid to see that what they are doing is wrong.'

'But we're not harming you!' Amy argued. 'It's not like we've been trying to take over, or repopulate this planet with our own species!'

Sophia smirked then, the expression forming slowly as she looked Amy up and down. 'As I said, you don't see what you're doing is wrong. Although now you've been changed, you won't be a problem anymore.'

'So you're doing this to do what? Restore your ancient bloodline?' the Doctor asked, incredulous. 'Because if that _is _what you're doing, you're going about it the completely wrong way. You could just try asking them to leave. A polite discussion could always work.'

'I don't understand your problem with humans, anyway.' Emily said, intrigue evident in her gaze.

'You are all apes!' Sophia said loudly, frustrated. 'You don't stop to think about what you are doing, and you're all so wrapped up in your own petty fears and worries that you don't ever let yourself become free! You miss the blindingly obvious! You fail to grasp even the most basic things in life, and you waste your time focusing on one or two things, instead of seeing everything!'

The Doctor replied softly and slowly, sincerity in his eyes. 'But they have hopes and dreams. They want to live life to its fullest, even if it means sacrificing something or fighting through problems to get where they want to be. They have the greatest sense of realism when it comes down to it. They understand that life isn't all about pleasure, it's about discovery.'

Sophia looked him up and down. 'Life to us _is _about pleasure and the fine things. We don't need humans here telling us that we should be unhappy.'

With that, she stormed out of the room.

The group didn't move, all four of them standing in shock and disbelief. The Doctor wore a grim expression, and for once it seemed like there was no action plan.

That was when Amy fainted.

**-DW=3-**

'Amy? Amy, are you okay?'

The world around her slowly faded into view and she felt exhausted as she regained her consciousness. 'What…' she mumbled quietly. 'What happened?' She relaxed a little as she realised that they were in the console room of the TARDIS. Emily was crouched near her with the Doctor. Ziggy was nowhere to be seen.

'Here,' Emily said softly, holding out a box, 'try to eat one of these.'

Amy looked down to register what she was being offered. It was a box of ostregines, pink and almost glowing in her eyes. She took one gingerly and bit into it, then moaned gratefully as the taste hit her tongue and immediately made her feel well again.

'Why did I faint?' she asked, after eating the fruit.

'I think it was due to lack of blood,' the Doctor said, sounding distracted as he stared at her in concern. 'Although why you didn't react like Ziggy did before is beyond me.'

Amy was saddened by the sheer reality of her situation. She had previously tried to pretend that it wasn't real, that she was still human, but now here chances of that even being true were gone. She reached out and took another ostregine, still not feeling one hundred percent.

'I think…' she started, thinking, 'I think I didn't react the same way because I didn't want to. I didn't want the…blood. Or something.' She looked nervously at the Doctor, and then quickly away again, remembering the strange pang of want she had experienced before. How could she have wanted to drink from him?

'Oh, Pond,' he said quietly, ruffling her hair, 'you care far too much.'

Emily stood up. 'I'm going to retrieve Ziggy from the library, if I can find it.'

'Oh, make sure you don't fall into the pool!' the Doctor called after her as she left, turning back to Amy as soon as she was gone. 'Amy. It's okay to be scared.'

She looked up at him reluctantly, eyes wide and sincere. 'I know. I'm not that scared…just upset. Worried. I don't know.'

'I'm trying to understand. In fact, I think I do. So, in all seriousness, I need you to remember that…that…' He looked lost, and Amy felt tears well up in her eyes. If he was confused, what was she going to do?

Noticing her despair, the Doctor put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up. 'I need you to remember that I love you.'

Amy was so overcome with happiness, plus all of the other emotions she had been through that she began to cry. The Doctor pressed his forehead to hers and let go of her face to hold her hand tightly, as he began to weep softly too. 'But what if I…' Amy started feebly, uncertain. 'What if I can't-'

'Amy. I love you, and I always will,' the Doctor replied, eyes shut against the tears he was trying to hold in. Now that the words were out he couldn't stop saying them. 'I'll be here. I love you.'

'I love you, too.' Amy whispered.

'I know,' the Doctor said before kissing her softly on the lips. 'We'll be fine, trust me.'

Amy smiled slightly. 'Fish custard,' she murmured, and he laughed.

'Yes, fish custard.'

'Okay…'

Ziggy's voice broke through the intense bundle of emotion, and the pair looked up. The Doctor stood up and grinned, dragging his sleeve over his eyes. 'Ziggy!'

Ziggy still looked confused and concerned. 'I don't know what I just walked in on; I mean…what's fish custard?'

Emily ran into the room and stood next to Ziggy. 'Ziggy,' she scolded playfully, tapping the back of his head, 'be quiet.'

He frowned at her. 'Yes, mum!' he said sarcastically, receiving another tap on the head.

'So what's the plan for tomorrow?' Amy asked, rising slowly and eating another ostregine.

The Doctor's expression suddenly morphed into one of dark seriousness. 'Tomorrow, we find out what's actually going on with Sophia and the blood infections. I think that she might be planning something bigger than I originally thought.'

Ziggy breathed in and out loudly. 'Wow,' he said, smiling nervously and excitedly. 'I'm getting shivers.'


End file.
